It's A Good Life We're Living
by BananaLollypop
Summary: In which Éponine and Enjolras are faced with the pride of being first time parents with milestone-hitting babies. Part 24 in my 'What if... Enjolnine' series. R&R appreciated about as much as I would appreciate seeing a Samantha Barks-Aaron Tveit duet.. *it could happen*


**AN:** Wow... this chapter is ridiculously long... over 6,000 words?! I can hardly believe it myself! I hope that makes up for my lateness... I should have finished this chapter last weekend, but, being the lucky (sarcasm) year 10 that I am, this is my Mocks Fortnight so... yay! Revision! *SARCASM SIGN*

This is a bit of a filler chapter that covers a really big space of time... I didn't have enough inspiration to do a chapter for each, so I thought 'Hmm.. let's throw it all into one installment!'

Prompt: What if Enjolras and Éponine came up with an amazing plan? Enjoy!

* * *

Enjolras and Éponine were finally starting to appreciate the joys of being parents. The twins were growing every day, and since their disastrous attempt at a holiday, they had found that being parents was becoming easier by the day.

It was around when the twins turned eight months old when Éponine started to realise how quickly time was passing. To both her and Enjolras, their children were still babies, but they were progressing more and more as the days passed. Éponine found herself wondering if she would remember these moments in the years to come, when her little girls weren't so little anymore.

So she came up with a plan, to help herself, Enjolras, the Amis and the twins, remember the precious moments in later life.

**Sitting Up and Picking Up**

It started with a piece of parchment and a pencil. They were already there form when Enjolras had been working on a report for the government the night before, and he had left early that morning, waking her despite trying not to.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked worriedly, "It doesn't feel right, leaving you on your own with the twins. I can cancel..."

"You've done it before," Éponine reasoned, "And they've been fine for the last few weeks, Enjolras. Go to your meeting, and get justice for the people. France comes first, remember." He smiled slightly, kissing her cheek.

"I'll be back this afternoon," he promised, kissing both of the twins lightly on the forehead on his way out. Éponine smiled at him, before pulling the covers back over her and trying to sleep for another hour before the twins woke up demanding breakfast.

A few hours later found her at the dining table, watching as the twins lay on their patchwork quilt on the floor. They often didn't do much, but they enjoyed rolling around, and Éponine enjoyed watching them.

She subconsciously picked up the pencil, fiddling with it as she let her mind drift; so much had changed, not just since the twins were born, but since the barricades had arisen almost two years ago. She had certainly changed; she had almost lost her hard attitude entirely, though her feistiness and hot temper remained. She didn't suffer from nightmares as often (though they were certainly a lot worse than they used to be when she did have them) and she was generally more relaxed and calm.

Enjolras had gone from being an apparently uncaring revolutionary leader to being a loving father and fiancé, still passionate for his cause but not needing to use violence to achieve it. He found time to spend with his family and friends, which was a massive change from the days when he would live and breathe his cause.

And the twins, arguably making the biggest difference of anything that had happened, were right in the centre of Éponine and Enjolras' lives.

Éponine often spoke to Joly and Combeferre (both of whom had made it their business to become experts on babies and their first few years of life) about how the twins should be progressing and when.

"Every baby is different, 'Ponine," Combeferre had chuckled the first time she had asked, "It's difficult to actually know when they'll hit any milestones." He had, nonetheless, written her a list of a baby's firsts and when they should achieve them.

Éponine had noticed the twins first rolling over at around two months; one thing checked off of Combeferre's list. But, since then, the twins seemed to show little activity, other than growing, screaming and constantly demanding food.

So when Elyse caught Éponine's attention with her babbling noises, having pulled herself into a sitting position with the help of a coffee table leg, and had picked up a bookmark that had been lying on the ground under the table, Éponine was suitably surprised.

Éponine glanced at the list, pinned to a wall in the kitchen area and found 'sitting up' and 'picking up' one on top of the other written in Combeferre's flawless penmanship. Éponine sat, irrevocably happy and just a little bit shocked, watching as Elyse waved her arm up and down with the bookmark still in her grasp, babbling proudly at her achievement.

Not believing that Enjolras was missing the moment, Éponine pulled the parchment on the table towards her, quickly sketching the scene with as much accuracy as she could at that moment in time. She had always been quite a good artist, but it was only since she'd lived and worked with Enjolras that she'd had time to practice.

*. . .*

She had shown Enjolras the picture the second he had walked through the door, insisting that he really should have been there and that it was an amazing feat. He had grinned madly and returned her hug as she embraced him excitedly, picking Elyse up from where she was still on the quilt, telling her that she really was a very clever little girl.

Evette, apparently jealous of all the attention her sister was getting, copied what Elyse had done earlier that day, before shuffling over to Éponine and grabbing hold of the fabric of her dress, her eyes wide. Éponine, for the second time that day, was both shocked and delighted, and ensured that the scene was fully imprinted in her mind so that she could draw it later before picking Evette up and kissing her cheek, telling her that she was also a very clever girl.

**First Nickname**

With both of their parents awarded nicknames by the Amis, it was only a matter of time before Evette and Elyse also acquired them.

In fact, Grantaire interrupted a meeting that was supposed to be an official 'Les Amis de l'ABC' meeting (in which the Amis were actually supposed to discuss and try to solve an issue that was plaguing France) to propose a discussion on the twins' nicknames. Enjolras, for one, was certainly not impressed by Grantaire's willingness to interrupt such an important meeting, nor with his insistency to re-name his daughters.

"They have been christened Evette and Elyse, Grantaire," she protested, "Why do they need nicknames when the names they have been given are perfectly fine?!"

"Because it's a non-optional social convention." Grantaire replied stubbornly.

Enjolras sighed, "I hope you realise that I'm well within my rights to fire you for being off-task during work hours?"

Grantaire scoffed indifferently, "You think I care about having a job or not?" he laughed, "In case you've forgotten, Apollo, I have a degree."

"You _barely_ have a degree," Enjolras corrected him, "You were drunk for most of your lectures and you had a hangover for your final exam. Honestly, it's a wonder you got a degree at all. Now, can we please get back to business?"

"Come _on_, Apollo!" Grantaire groaned, "We can reschedule until tomorrow at least. It's a Monday evening, and, frankly, I'm still suffering from our lunch meeting. Can't we just have one night?!" Enjolras looked around at the other Amis, all of whom were looking at him with pleading eyes.

He sighed and, knowing that the person that he had been two years ago would never have done such a thing, sat down reluctantly, "One night," he said firmly, "And I'm expecting you all to be completely focused when we come back to the topic tomorrow evening. And I swear to God, if any one of you is late, I will make it my business to acquire an entire new set of weapons, seeing as Courfeyrac still has mine in his possession-"

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, Enjolras, I never said that they were in my possession," Courfeyrac grinned at the leader who now glared at him.

"As I was saying, anyone who turns up late will feel the wrath of my new weapons collection."

Everyone fell silent for a moment before Grantaire once again took control of the meeting, "So, nicknames," he said, a smile breaking across his face, "Any suggestions?"

*. . .*

Hours later, Enjolras had returned home, where Éponine had been spending the evening with Cosette as opposed to joining him at the meeting.

"I refuse to miss any precious moments," she had said firmly, "And I'm not sure the twins will stay quiet if they have to sit through an entire meeting surrounded by the Amis without the attention focused on them. You go, and catch me up later. I'm going to stay at home with my feet up, most probably listening to Cosette babble about the perfect wedding."

Enjolras smiled at the memory, pushing the door to their flat open to find Éponine dozing on the sofa. He woke her by kissing her cheek softly and she stretched, frowning slightly.

"Why did you wake me?" she asked grumpily, "I was having such a nice sleep..."

"You'll hurt your back sleeping on the sofa," he told her, smiling slightly, "Besides, I need to approve the nicknames that the Amis have picked out for the twins..." Éponine chuckled.

"I'm surprised they've waited so long!" she exclaimed, "The twins are eight and a half months old!"

Enjolras frowned, "I honestly don't see what's wrong with calling them 'Evette' and 'Elyse'," he murmured.

"It gets boring," Éponine shrugged, "Goodness knows, it's boring to constantly be called 'Éponine'. I prefer to have a variety of names.

"Oh do you now, my darling Athena?" Enjolras said, smirking as he sat down next to her on the sofa.

"Yes I do, my dearest Apollo," she replied, kissing him lightly on the lips, "Now, what names am I approving?"

"Evette is to become 'Evie'," Enjolras started, "I thought it was a little informal-"

"Isn't that the idea of nicknames?" Éponine interrupted him, her eyebrows raised. Enjolras rolled his eyes.

"That's beside the point," he protested, hurrying on before Éponine could intervene with any more comments, "And Elyse is 'Ellie' or 'Elle', depending on who's talking." Éponine smiled.

"I like them," she said, nodding approvingly, "The Amis chose well."

"Oh, I'm not finished," Enjolras said, "Grantaire has insisted that as soon as he is certain of their personalities, they will also have names of Greek gods... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't dreading it."

Éponine chuckled, "If you dislike being called Apollo so much, then why don't you tell people to stop?" she asked. Enjolras rolled his eyes.

"I tried that for years," he told her, "It never worked. Besides, I don't _dislike_ it, per se... not when you say it at least." Éponine smiled.

"Good," she stated, "Because I wasn't planning on stopping calling you it." He laughed.

"I would never have expected you to."

*. . .*

Éponine was rather disappointed that the twins' gaining of nicknames was something that she couldn't draw. She had long since perfected her drawing of Elyse sitting up for the first time, and had sketched Evette doing the same and tugging on her dress, and perfected that one too. She had even gone so far as to ask Grantaire to add colour to them (he had been more than willing and Éponine didn't trust herself to add colour without ruining the drawing that had taken her so long).

So, Enjolras, not wanting his fiancée to be downhearted, suggested an alternative.

"Write about it?" Éponine asked sceptically, "What do you mean 'write about it'?"

"Almost like a diary," he clarified, "We could write little paragraphs on the things that you can't draw." Éponine frowned.

"I'm making that your job," she said, kissing him lightly, "You're better at wording things than I am." She winked at him before busying herself with writing up the report Enjolras had asked her to do (she would undoubtedly ask him for help on it later on; there were some perks to your fiancé also being your employer...).

*. . .*

The next day, just as Éponine was finishing her report from the night before, pushing the parchment away with a tired groan, Enjolras, replaced it with another piece of parchment.

"I'm not writing anything else." Éponine said defiantly. Enjolras smiled slightly.

"Read it," he told her, "I want your opinion." Looking at him confusedly, she picked up the parchment and began to read.

_On Monday the 16__th__ April 1834, Evette and Elyse were officially given their first nicknames. Papa was adamant that their christened names were more than enough, but Uncle Grantaire insisted that it was a 'non-optional social convention'. _

_Evette Azelma Jaqueline DuFay became 'Evie'. _

_Elyse Cosette DuFay became 'Ellie' to all of the Amis except Courfeyrac, who insisted that 'Elle' reflected her resilient personality more than 'Ellie'. _

_Papa will continue to call his daughters by their given names until a time when he decides that they no longer fit. Mama likes the nicknames, so she will undoubtedly use them whenever possible. _

Éponine smiled reading the paragraph, "It's perfect," she stated, "But I have one question: why Papa? And Mama? And Uncle Grantaire?"

"I thought it might make more sense to the twins if they ever decided to read them in the future," Enjolras shrugged, "I'd like to be able to tell them this story one day." Éponine smiled.

"I was right," she said smugly.

"Regarding...?" Enjolras prompted.

"I always said you'd be a perfect father."

**Crawling**

Crawling was, in Éponine's eyes, one of the most important milestones that the twins would hit within their first year. She was, however, completely caught offguard when the event actually occurred, partly because it happened to be Evette catching everyone's attention as she wandered across the table, and partly because it happened to be in the Musain one lunchtime when everyone was around.

Enjolras and Éponine were at a lunchtime meeting with Marius and Grantaire regarding an issue that the more sceptical members of the French government hadn't hesitated to point out about Enjolras' beloved revolution.

"If they don't want to be involved with the project to make France a better and fairer place, then why don't they just focus on other things?!" Éponine grumbled, sitting Evette on the edge of the table as the little girl waved her arms around. They were sat at a table at the end of a line of many, with the other Amis sat further up so as not to interrupt their private meeting.

The twins were looking more and more like their parents every day; their hair was growing reasonably quickly, and was wavy and chestnut brown, a mixture of their parents' hair colours. It was clear that Evette had her mother's smile, whilst Elyse had very nearly mastered Enjolras' triumphant smirk after copying her father for weeks.

"It's not that simple, 'Ponine," Marius reasoned, "Besides, I'm not sure Enjolras would allow anyone to leave his cause, whether they got into it voluntarily or not."

"You make me sound like such a controlling person, Pontmercy," Enjolras said, although his triumphant smirk was in place yet again. Grantaire rolled his eyes.

"The point is that they don't see where it's going," he said, a half-drunk bottle of wine on the table beside him, "Two years on, and little has changed."

"I disagree," Éponine said immediately, "Attitudes across the country have changed dramatically. You should see the amount of bourgeois people giving to the poor now compared to how many did before the barricades. I should know, I was one begging for a few sous a lot of the time..." the last bit was muttered, but all three men heard, and it inadvertently made them feel a little uncomfortable. They were all more than aware of where Éponine had come from, and none of them could forget whom she was related to, but it occasionally slipped their minds due to the fact that she had changed so much in the time since the battle on the barricades took place.

"Attitudes _have_ changed," Marius agreed, "But I can see where Grantaire is coming from. There needs to be more physical evidence."

"Have any of your government officials actually been to the slums?" Éponine questioned Enjolras. He frowned for a moment before shaking his head.

"Not that I'm aware of," he said, "I mean, some of them pass them every day on their way to work, but I doubt they'll get a very good view form their carriage windows."

"Then I think we've found our next course of action," Éponine said decisively, looking around at the boys, waiting for one of them to disagree. When none of them did, she smiled triumphantly, "Excellent. Meeting adjourned?" Enjolras nodded, smiling at his fiancé.

Evette started to wriggle in Éponine's arms, twisting her head around to find her sister, who was sitting at the other end of the table on Combeferre's lap. She started whining, so Éponine released her, being sure to keep a close eye on her movements so that she didn't roll of the table. Evette did not intend to do anything of the sort, as she managed to roll herself over and push up onto all fours before crawling with a ridiculous amount of speed up the table before any of the Amis could fully comprehend what was happening.

Éponine practically throttled Grantaire whilst begging for some parchment and a pencil which she had forgotten to pack (just her luck, of course). He practically threw the materials at her to avoid being strangled to death with his own cravat.

Éponine barely had time to sketch the basic aspects of the scene before Evette was once again in a sitting position in front of Combeferre and Elyse, who was giggling and clapping her hands clumsily at her sister's apparent act of hilarity.

*. . .*

It was about a fortnight later when Elyse finally managed to get the hang of crawling. Evette had been all over the place, and Éponine and Enjolras were starting to learn that a crawling baby really could reach quite a lot, and so had resulted to putting everything on the dining table as opposed to on the small table by the sofa. It was also not unusual to find the floor of Éponine and Enjolras' flat covered with blankets, which was Éponine's way of trying to avoid any accidents involving Evette's head and the wooden floorboards.

Elyse, when it finally got to the point where she worked out how to move her hands and knees in a crawling-like motion, decided to disregard the blankets all together.

Éponine left Enjolras sitting at the dining table reading a book, the twins on a blanket barely three feet away, going through to the bedroom for all of a minute. When she returned, she found Evette crawling underneath the small table by the sofa, and Elyse apparently nowhere to be seen.

"Erm, Enjolras..." Époninesaid quietly, "Would you like to explain why there is a rather large moving bump under that blanket?" Enjolras had been so engrossed in his book that he hadn't realised that Elyse had manoeuvred her way under a blanket and had started crawling around the room with the blanket still on top of her.

As Elyse's little head popped out from the edge of the blanket, Époninefound herself drawing the adorable scene as Enjolras watching on, smiling slightly.

"You've barely stopped drawing these last few weeks," he noted, "I'm starting to think I'm losing you to a piece of parchment!" Éponine rolled her eyes at his comment, still sketching.

"I'll make it up to you," she promised, smiling slightly, "And it'll be worth it in a few years. You only get these moments once, Apollo."

**Standing**

When the twins first found themselves on their unsteady feet, Éponine was glad she had remembered to pack a pile of parchment and a couple of pencils in her bag along with everything she needed for the twins.

She had decided to take the twins to Cosette and Marius' house, where her best friend would undoubtedly start pestering her about plans for the wedding, but Éponine supposed that that was better than sitting around at home all day on her own. Marius and Enjolras, along with Grantaire, were going to their second annual meeting with the government, almost directly on the second anniversary of the barricades (though Éponine was glad that it hadn't landed on the anniversary; it was her and Enjolras' anniversary too after all).

She and Cosette were sitting in the living room, the twins sitting happily on the carpet playing with a teddy bear that had been so lovingly made by Musichetta before the twins were born.

"So I was thinking, for the wedding-"

"Stop right there, Cosette," Éponine said firmly, "The wedding is a while off yet. It definitely doesn't require any planning for at least another few weeks, and even then I will most likely postpone it for as long as possible. Honestly, how can you possibly find planning a wedding so interesting?"

"You know you love it too," Cosette said, sniffing, "It's the biggest day of your life, Éponine, and you should treat it accordingly!"

"It's one day, Cosette," Éponine reminded her, "One day of many that I plan on spending with Enjolras. I would much rather spend my time ensuring that my children are going to grow up in a safe and fair country than planning a single day for the sake of a piece of paper." Cosette huffed.

"Remind me again why you're my best friend?" she muttered, "We have absolutely nothing in common..." Éponine just chuckled.

"We're best friends because you love me." She said simply, "And I love you the same." She was about to change the topic when Elyse pulled the teddy bear out of Evette's grasp, causing the latter to scream loudly in protest.

Éponine sighed, "Elyse," she sat down on the floor next to the younger of her twins, "We don't snatch." Éponine had long since realised that the twins could understand quite a lot of what she said directly to them, as had Enjolras, who stated that 'it's never too soon to start implementing discipline'.

She gently prised the bear from Elyse's grasp, nodding to her daughter with a cheeky grin on her face, "Merci, mademoiselle," she said, kissing Elyse's head lightly. Elyse had such an adorable scowl on her face (Éponine refused to note that it looked scarily like Enjolras) that Éponine was desperate to draw it; sketching had become quite a hobby of hers, but she decided to sketch the scene later, as it surely wouldn't be too hard to replicate the details of Elyse's expression.

Her thoughts of sketching were interrupted by an excited squeal from Cosette, "Éponine!" Éponine turned her head to face her friend, but was redirected by Cosette's finger to see Evette pushing herself up onto her feet.

Without a second thought, Éponine launched herself at her bag, pulling out a piece of parchment and picking up a pencil that had fallen on the floor in her haste to get her desired materials. Even as she sketched the scene, Evette was wobbling, and fell flat on her face after just a few seconds, a rather confused look on her face.

Cosette began to babble about how amazing it was but Éponine 'shhh'-ed her into silence and she put the scene to paper. After a few minutes she was satisfied that she had enough detail to be going on with, and picked Evette up, wrapping her in a hug.

"Daddy's going to be very upset that you made him miss yet another moment, Evie," she murmured happily into the baby's ear.

Elyse apparently thought she could do better, crawling over to Cosette and sitting down in front of her, reaching her arms out to be picked up. Cosette set her on her feet, and let go slowly, watching Elyse's face light up as she steadied herself slightly. Éponine quickly sketched this scene also, and smiled slightly as Elyse fell back into a sitting position.

"I think she's going to be quite the strategist, you know," Cosette said thoughtfully, "Evie put the work into it, but Ellie actually came up with a plan." Éponine groaned.

"She gets more and more like Enjolras every day..."

**First Steps**

The twins took their first steps not long after they stood for the first time. For a week they were pulling themselves into standing positions using anything they could get a hold of (Enjolras was more than a little bit surprised when Elyse used his leg to set herself on her feet).

It was Elyse who took her first steps first, wobbling across Éponine and Enjolras' apartment with a determined look on her face. After almost a year of watching her parents walk around on their two feet, she had picked up some skills, at least. After reaching her arms out for Enjolras to set her on her feet (an act that was becoming more and more well-known in their household), she lifted her right foot forward and wobbled slightly before setting it down slightly in front of her.

Enjolras' eyes widened dramatically, "Éponine!" he called through the open door to the twins' nursery which, for now, had become something of an art room for Éponine to work on her sketches of the twins, "Bring something to draw on!" Elyse stood where she was, looking up at her father with a confused look on her face. Enjolras crouched down a few feet in front of her, holding his arms out, "Come on, Ellie," he said quietly (the nicknames the twins had been given were beginning to grow on him), "Come to Papa."

Éponine was by his side in an instant, "Did she walk yet?" she asked desperately. Evette was practically glaring at her sister from where she was sat on the same blanket.

"Only a tiny step," Enjolras murmured, "Come on, Ellie. Walk to Papa." Éponine sat with her pencil resting on the page, getting ready for when Elyse was in the perfect position to draw her as she took her first proper step.

Elyse was frowning at her parents; she really didn't understand what all the fuss was about. She decided, however, to take her first step anyway, as it was obviously what everyone was waiting for.

Éponine would be lying if she said that it didn't make her immensely proud to see her little girls meeting all of the milestones that they had been; as Elyse took her first steps towards Enjolras, Éponine's eyes blurred with tears of happiness as she struggled to draw the scene with impaired vision. True, Elyse only managed three steps before toppling forward and falling into Enjolras' grasp, but it was a momentous moment nonetheless.

Evette decided to walk her first steps for much more personal reasons; namely, because her teddy bear was on one side of the room, and she was on the other, and she very much wished to play with said teddy bear. After looking to the kitchen to see Éponine humming loudly as she baked biscuits (she had mastered them over the last few months, and was now far too smug (in Enjolras' opinion) when saying that she actually could cook), Evette decided that she might as well get her toy herself.

When Éponine turned around to see her little girl wobbling across the room, she practically dropped the tray of biscuits in her hands in shock. Honestly, she couldn't turn her back for five seconds without missing something!

Launching herself into action (she really couldn't believe that Enjolras was missing yet another memorable moment), she looking around desperately for a piece of parchment to draw on. He eyes landed on the report that Enjolras had been working on that morning before he had gone to the government buildings for an emergency meeting about something that she really should be interested in, but really wasn't.

Grabbing the parchment and turning it over to the blank side, she sketched as much as she dared before catching Evette as she wobbled, stopping her falling onto the hard wooden floor. The little girl started screaming in protest, wriggling in her mother's arms as she reached for the teddy bear. Éponine laughed quietly, passing the bear to Evette.

**First Birthday**

Éponine and Enjolras were well within their rights to state that the last year had been more than eventful. As the twins' first birthday loomed, however, Éponine found herself despairing.

A year. A whole year had passed since the night that could have gone so differently. Had it not been for her midwife's experience and sheer skill, Éponine would not be sitting in the bedroom of her apartment, wondering where on earth the time had gone. She wouldn't be with Enjolras. She wouldn't have two beautiful daughters. She wouldn't feel happier than she had ever been.

Enjolras knocked on the doorframe, and Éponine suddenly remembered that she hadn't shut the door when she decided to drive herself insane in their bedroom.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Enjolras asked, sitting on the bed next to her and wrapping an arm around her waist. She wrapped her arms around him.

"About what?" she questioned, confused.

"About whatever you're worrying about," he clarified, "You've got your thinking face on. And you've been sitting on the bed in complete silence for almost ten minutes." Éponine chuckled quietly.

"I was just thinking that time passes fast," she explained, "The twins are going to one next Tuesday, Apollo... where did that year go? And the barricades... everyone's forgotten about that. Everything's just so different. I'm not sure if I like it." Enjolras rolled his eyes, smiling slightly.

"Of course, you're right," Enjolras stated, "You almost always are-"

"_Almost_ always?!" she said, feigning outrage, before smiling at him.

"But things change," Enjolras continued, "It makes the world work, which is lucky for us. We'd never have achieved half of what we had if no one was open to change. But that doesn't mean that all change is good, and it doesn't mean that all change is bad either. It's more... necessary." Éponine frowned.

"Why must you always say things I don't want to hear and still be right?!" she demanded. Enjolras laughed.

"Because, luckily for you, I'm _not_ changing. You should know after two and a half years of living with me that I much prefer things to be straightforward and truthful."

"I would say that you're the image of a perfect citizen," Éponine started, staning up from the bed, "But you destroyed about thirty houses worth of furniture and shot at the National Guard to make a point."

"In the name of equality and justice!" Enjolras protested. Éponine laughed.

"You make it far too easy to wind you up!"

*. . .*

The following Tuesday, everyone met in the back room of the Musain, something they hadn't done in what felt like forever. They tended to just use the main cafe area for their more recent meetings, seeing as they no longer had to keep their plans to themselves; in many ways, they _were_ the government now, after all.

All of the Amis had gathered there for the twins' birthday party (which would undoubtedly be more for the adults if the amount of alcohol Grantaire had turned up with was anything to go by). It was going to be a day for the twins, and only the twins (ideally).

When Éponine and Enjolras arrived, they made their way through to the back room, the twins in their arms, to find the Amis standing there waiting for them.

Combeferre and Cosette had been collaborating for days, planning the party. They believed that it was their duties as godmother and 'only sensible uncle' to set up an amazing first birthday.

"Do you like it?" Cosette asked, approaching the four of them. Éponine smiled.

"It's perfect," she assured her, then groaned.

"What is it?" Enjolras asked her, a frown crossing his face.

"I didn't bring anything to draw with!" she asked, her face falling slightly. Cosette sighed with relief.

"Thank goodness it's nothing serious," she muttered.

"Nothing serious?!" Éponine all but screeched at her best friend. Combeferre chuckled.

"Relax, Éponine," he said, "Grantaire's taking a turn to the do the drawing. Besides, the twins will never have any pictures of them with you if you do all of the sketches." Éponine brightened up immediately.

"Alright, _now_ it's perfect."

*. . .*

True to his word to Cosette, Grantaire spent half of his time at the party drawing. She had threatened to smash up his entire stash of alcohol in front of his very eyes if he didn't make his goddaughters' special day perfect. It was safe to say that he complied faster than anyone, anywhere, _ever_, had ever complied to anything.

Éponine and Enjolras had the best day they'd had since they were reunited with the twins after the first three days of their 'holiday'. The Amis still struggled to believe how much the twins had changed all of their lives.

Courfeyrac was ridiculously happy when he was the first person Evette walked to. The moment Éponine let the little girl down onto the floor, she made her way (far too quickly in Éponine's opinion) over the Courfeyrac, her little boots tapping on the floor as she went. She reached her arms up to him and he picked her up, smiling madly.

"Does this prove that I'm the favourite uncle, or do I have to wait until they can talk to get my money?" he said jokily, earning a laugh from the others in the room.

"Excuse me," Gavroche said indignantly, "But I'm their only _real_ uncle, so I'm the favourite."

"I don't see your logic." Courf said stubbornly.

"That's because you know I'm right," Gavroche said, grinning smugly.

As the afternoon began to turn to evening, Cosette finally gave Grantaire permission to put his sketches away. Grantaire grabbed the bottle nearest to him and downed it in one, not even bothering to see what was in it.

Grantaire was drunk within the hour, and so no one was especially surprised when he broke out into song.

"_Drink with me... to days, gone by,_

_To the life, that used, to be,_

_At the shrine of friendship, never say die_

_Let the wine of friendship,_" he paused to hiccup, "_Never run dry,_

_Here's to you... and here's... to me."_ He finished, looking around at everyone, and having each one look back at him.

"It's been a good year, mes amis," Enjolras said quietly. There were murmurs of agreement from the people in the room, and Éponine laid her head on his shoulder, Elyse in her arms. Both of the twins were drifting off to sleep, and both Éponine and Enjolras could say that they had never been happier.

When they got home that night, not ridiculously late, but late enough for both of the twins to be sound asleep, Éponine found herself unable to leave the side of the crib once they had settled the twins into bed.

"Are you alright?" Enjolras asked, coming up before her and wrapping his arms around her waist, resting his chin on the top of her head. Éponine smiled slightly.

"I'm fine," she assured him, "More than fine, actually. I just... want to make the most of every moment. I don't want to feel like I'm missing out on anything. You only live once after all."

"I'd like to think that we've lived twice," Enjolras mused, "Somewhere, in a different life, we died on the barricades. In this life... we've been given another chance to make things right. The way I see it, every day we're living is a bonus." Éponine turned to face him.

"I don't know what I did in that other life," she murmured, "But whatever it was must have been pretty amazing for me to deserve you in this life."

"And I am eternally grateful for whatever that thing was," Enjolras agreed, "It's a good life we're living." Éponine pressed her lips to his, smiling even more.

"That it is, Apollo. That it is."

* * *

**I'm afraid I only semi-proof read this chapter (which is more than usual so... feel privileged :D) so typos may pop up... I've also got myself a little bit obsessed with J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, so... if any of you want to read a bit of me attempting to write something for an age-old fandom based on the 2 movies I've seen, I may well be uploading a fic soon!**

**I've also started writing an Éponine/Jehan fanfic (I do so love the starger ships :'D) so if you fancy some Les Mis by me that isn't Enjolnine, feel free to check it out!**

**Now, for some important-y stuff. I'm debating on whether or not to start the Extended Edition now. It feels like I've got to the point in the story where I can afford to take a break from it without needing to rush on to another event. If I DID start the Extended Edition now, should I update with these stories at the same time? Or should I leave the separate one-shots forevermore and only ever update the Extended Edition? OR should I just not start the Extended Edition until I run out of ideas? The fate of this story is in your hands, lovely people of the universe!**

**As always, reviews and prompts are very much appreciated and welcomed! Thank you ever so much for reading!**


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